What is Twitter?
Twitter is a social networking tool that allows for real-time communication between users. You can post updates or messages in 140 characters or less (sometimes known as “micro-blogging”) and your followers are instantly notified. This is a great way to network on-the-go, since you can “tweet” from your mobile phone or any device connected to the web.
Having only launched recently in 2006, Twitter already has 200 million users, and signs on nearly half a million more every day. This makes for a potentially powerful communication tool.
Why Should I Twitter?
Communicate with your clients in real-time
Twitter allows you to quickly and conveniently send a message across to all of your followers. For example, if a new product becomes available, you can make it known to your clients instantly. Limited-time offer? Twitter let’s you spread the word fast. If your business requires you to travel, you can update your clients regarding your current location.
Listen in on industry conversations
Even if you don’t post any of your own tweets, you can listen in on those of your competitors. This keeps you up-to-date with your industry, shows you what’s working for other businesses and how to improve your own. You can sift through conversations to determine what people like and dislike about your competitors, creating an indispensable information tool for you.
A personal touch
Twitter can be used as a micro-blog for personal conversations with your clients. If you own a larger company, a micro-blog for each of your employees can help create a likeable persona and build stronger ties between them and your clients.
Increase awareness of your business
On Twitter, others can mention you with a simple “@”, allowing their followers to connect to you. Or, a hashtag “#” will start a conversation about your company, spreading your name even further. Additionally, Your tweets can be re-tweeted by your clients, making your business visible to their followers.
A new feature on Twitter is “Promoted Tweets”. These go out to everyone – not just your followers – and appear in search listings, too. Similar to Pay-Per-Click, these work on a Cost-Per-Engagement (CPE) basis where a small fee is paid when the tweet is clicked or re-tweeted. This ensures you only pay when your advertisement is working.
Learn about your customers
You can direct a question to all of your clients and read their responses in one convenient place. They can post comments, recommendations and suggestions, letting you know what they like and dislike. This is a great way to increase customer satisfaction. They can also ask you questions. Your answers may just make you a go-to expert in your field on Twitter, spreading your company name far and wide.
How Will Twitter Help My Website?
Most people using Twitter often post links to other sites. You can do the same with your business, posting links to your site’s products, special offers and promotions. The Widget application allows your Twitter feed to be posted on your website as well, so customers can see your news in real-time directly from your site. Furthermore, your Twitter profile will bear your logo and link to your website. When people see your tweets, or re-tweets from others, they will be able to easily access your website.
Quick Tip for Twitter
Twitter can become difficult to manage as the number of followers increases and your business is mentioned in many discussions throughout the day. Thankfully, you can organize all of these conversations with an application called TweetDeck. This creates a clean interface where you can monitor what’s being said about you and your company. You can also integrate TweetDeck with your other social media, including Facebook and LinkedIn to simplify your networking experience. Get TweetDeck here: https://www.tweetdeck.com/.